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Adidas Invitational: Wrap-Up

I’m about to get on the road to Louisville to hit up the Kentucky Hoopfest, but before I leave here’s a quick wrap-up post for the Adidas Invitational, coming to you from the Panera conveniently placed a block away from North Central High School.

The Dallas Mustangs, featuring super-recruit LeBryan Nash, took home to 17U Platinum Division title, beating the New York City New Heights, who had beaten the New England Playaz the game before. The hype around Nash is completely justified, for what it’s worth.

Indiana Elite played in the first game today and lost by 5. Overall, it was a good tournament for Yogi Ferrell, a great one for Cody Zeller, and a so-so one for Marshall Plumlee. The buzz around Plumlee is underwhelming, while Indiana coaches have one goal for the summer.

Jordan Price’s Atlanta Celtics ran the next game, and he played well. I was very impressed with him after the first day, but he seemed to level off after that. The fact is, he isn’t a great shooter. But he definitely has the body to bang with anyone in the post. The Atlanta Celtics went on to win the 16-U Platinum division with a win over the Indiana Elite.

Top Michigan Targets

Matt Costello – I know I said this after yesterday, but I’m going to say it again: Matt Costello had a breakout tournament. These July tournaments are when players earn offers, and he’s earning his. The schools he’s been in contact with has grown: Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Oakland, with offers from Oakland, Michigan, and USC.

Jeremy Hollowell – Just a fantastic player who had a lot of eyes on him all tournament. It’s good to know Michigan is at least in the hunt for him. His combination of size and shooting ability makes him extremely dangerous. We caught up with him and he said Michigan was in the hunt.

Alex Murphy – In the mold of Hollowell, but I would say just a bit more talented but not as good a shooter. Being recruited everywhere, including Michigan. Didn’t play too great in the semifinal loss this morning, however.

Denzel Valentine – Valentine’s play early in the tournament put him on the map in my opinion. He was able to answer a lot of questions about his knee in front of some big-name schools. It’s just a matter of time before offers start coming for him.

Cody Zeller – Zeller answered the question: who is the best Indiana Elite big man? He impressed and his stock rose even higher than it already is.

Other Notes

Jordan Price has been offered by Miami, Georgia, Georgia Tech and South Florida but he is in contact with many big-name schools, including Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Michigan called him on June 15th to tell him they would like to see him visit, which he plans to do at some point. He said all schools contacting him are pretty even at this point. There’s a lot to like about Price and Michigan. He’s a big, physical guard who is perfectly suited for the Big Ten. He needs to work on his shooting and passing, but his ballhandling, quickness and body are great.

Alex Murphy is a mega-recruit up there with Nash, but Michigan is on the picture. He said he has offers pretty much across the board besides UNC and Kentucky and that everyone’s relatively even. He was tight with former Michigan assistant John Mahoney, but he’s still interested. Murphy is young, so we’ll see how his recruitment plays out. He can pretty much take his pick. He’s a strong, tall, athletic wing who can get to the basket whenever he wants. He wowed a lot of people here.

Dorian’s Pride 16’s won the Gold Division championship. I really wish I could have caught Ray Lee, apparently he killed it. Lee and Costello both plan to play with the 16s and 17s at the Kentucky Hoopfest so I’ll have plenty more chances to see them in action.